Anode-support.



o. E. LEFPEL' Patented Feb. 3, 1914,

4 n F v INV OR 5 W WITNESSES Q FIG 3 CLARENCE EDWARD VLEFFEL, or NIAGA SPIRELLA COMPANY, rnooaronnrnn, RATION on NEW YORK.

RA FALLS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE OF 'NIAG'ARA FALLS, NEW YORK, A CORPO- ANODE-SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE EDWARD LEFFEL, a resident of Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented a new anduseful Improve ment in Anode-Supports, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to anode supports for use in electroplating.

The object of the invention is to provide a support for the anode plate which is of simple construction, and which can be cheaply manufactured and readily applied to the anode in such manner as to provide a good electrical contact, and wherein the support can be readily removed from the anode when the latter is worn out, and used upon other similar anodes.

The invention comprises the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional view through an electroplating tank and showing the anode in position; Fig. 2 is a broken-out side elevation of the upper end 7 of an anode and one form of support for the same; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on the line 3 3, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, and showing another embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 5 is a detail view of another form of supporting hook.

In the drawings, lrepresents an electroplating tank which may be of any preferred size, shape or construction. Above said tank are a pair of conductor bars, rods or tubes 2 for supporting the anode and cathode respectively.

3 represents an anode, which may be of any suitable size, shape or material. The particular anode shown is a long, fiat plate usually made about one-half inch thick. This plate is supported from one of the conducting bars or rods 2 by means of a hook or support 4 of special design and detachably secured to the plate.

Heretofore the anodes have been supported by means of a hook cast integral with the anode plate, or provided with a wedge-like head adapted to be driven from the side or end into a socket in the anode plate. In order to secure good conductivity peatedly,

and minimize corrosion of the contacting surfaces, the hooks are generally cast from a-special nickel composition, which is comparatively expensive and costs as much as fifty cents per pound. In large electroplating establishments, the cost of these sup porting hooks for a large number of tanks amounts to a very considerable sum in the course of a year, especially when it becomes necessary to scrap the hooks when the anode is worn out.

My invention provides a novel form'of anode hook or support whereby the hooks need not be scrapped, but can be used rethereby reducing the investment and the cost of maintenance, and resulting in a large saving in the cost of operation. It also provides a hook of a form which can be readily cast into the anode and easily re moved therefrom when the anode is worn out.

In carrying out the invention, the hook 4: is provided at its lower end with screw threads 5. These screw threads may be of any suitable type or shape, but preferably are of coarse or slow pitch, that is, with a small number of threads to a given length of the shank of the hook. The screw threads may either be out or otherwise formed in the solid metal of the hook 4 itself, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8, or may be formed in a separate member secured to the hook, as shown in Fig. 5. In Figs. 2 and 3, the threads are formed in a head or enlargement 6 formed integral with the lower end of the hook, while in Fig. 5 the head 6 is a separate member pinned or otherwise secured to the lower end of the hook, as at 7. Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the threads as formed by the provision of V-shaped grooves in the enlargement or head 6, while in Figs. 4c and 5, the screw threads consist of a spiral rib or ribs on the outside of a cylindrical portion of the hook or the head 6*. I

The anode plate 3 is provided in its upper end with a socket 8- of a shape to correspond with the threaded lower end of the hooks 4. This socket may be formed in any suitable manner, such as by boring and tapping the same in the upper end of the solid anode. Preferably, however, the socket is produced by casting the metal of the anode around the lower threaded end of the anode hook or Patented Feb. 3, 1914.. Application filed April 25, 1913. Serial No. 763,525.

support 4, in which case the socket truly conforms to the shape of the threaded head of the hook.

The construction described produces good conductivity, since by casting the anode around the threaded end of the hook, practically an integral construction is produced. There is also no chance of corrosion or oxidation of the contacting surfaces when the anode is eaten away or worn out to such an extent that it can no longer be used. The remaining portion of the anode and the hook supporting the same are then removed from the electroplating tank. By gripping or clamping the anode and twisting the hook about its vertical axis, the hook may be unscrewed or withdrawn from the anode and may then be placed on another anode and used over again.

What I claim is 1. An anode support, comprising a hook arranged to be supported by a conducting bar, the lower end of said hook being provided with a comparatively short enlargement provided on its periphery with coarse pitch screw threads, said threaded enlargement being adapted to be secured to an anode plate by casting the metal of the plate around the same and to be unscrewed from said plate when the latter is eaten away.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a hook formed to engage a conducting bar and provided on its lower end with a threaded portion having coarse pitch threads, and an anode plate having the metal thereof cast around the coarse threads on the lower end of said hook, whereby the hook may be unscrewed from said plate when the latter is worn away.

3. In a device of the character described,

the combination of a hook provided with a threaded shank, and an anode plate having the metal thereof cast around the screw threaded portion of said shank, whereby when the plate is eaten away, said hook may be unscrewed therefrom and another anode plate cast around the threaded portion thereof.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. CLARENCE EDWARD LEFFEL. Witnesses:

H. E. WILLIAMS, H. E. BEEGLE.

Copies 01 this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner or Patents Washington, D. G. 

